Value in Potential: The Hydro-power Application
Potential
The word potential is often used in the world of Personal Development and Physics. While potential means two different things in both cases, it connotes the state of having a prospective, likely, impending, possible, budding, probable ability to become, develop, grow or simply manifest something greater than its former, visible, tangible, measurable condition or state would suggest.
The image of Figure 1.1 shows the global energy potential obtainable from renewable and non-renewable sources. In other words, the image is about how much energy we can get from the different sources of energy. However, we are not done with discussing potential and potential energy. I just could not resist using the image because it captures the use of the word "potential" and touches on one application of potential energy (Hydroelectric Power)
Potential Energy is the energy an object has because its position above the earth. This definition of potential energy on its own is confusing to the rookie physicist because it just does not make sense that an object should have energy because of the position of the object.
This is similar to seeing a wealthy king who does nothing but enjoys life or at least so it would seem to his subjects. Like the high-hanging heavy ball of a demolition machine, the influence of the wealthy king and his wealth come from the position he has attained above the ordinary people. It is not significant that the king may have inherited the throne.
The problem with understanding potential energy comes from the fact that we focus on the position of the object and not what happened before the object got to that position. If we go back long enough in time, we would be able to see what the royal family did that earned them the throne and if we pay close attention to them, we shall find that they did not just remain on the throne because they took it sometime in the past. No. They usually work very hard and make many sacrifices to keep the throne within the royal family. In this case, the crane holding the demolition ball must have enough force to hold the ball in position, else it will fall and lose its potential energy. The ongoing is very apparent in The Game of Thrones and other real-life kingdoms. This is precisely what happens in the potential energy of an object. For an object to have potential energy, work must be done against a force that would ordinarily prevent every other object from attaining that same potential energy. And for the object to remain in that position, a force is required to keep it.
A rolling stone does not roll on its own: someone pushed it.
I have already mentioned one object that demonstrates potential energy: the demolition ball of a demolition machine, another one is the arrow in a stretched bow.
The potential energy stored in the demolition ball mentioned above is gravitational potential energy. There are other forms of potential energy like Elastic Potential Energy, but for this purposes of this post, I shall discuss only gravitational potential energy. The gravitational potential energy is the energy stored in an object due to its height above the earth. Evidently, the object acquired this energy due to work that was done against gravity in raising the body of mass, m through the height, h.
It is also obvious that the greater the mass of the object, the greater the work that would be required to move it to any height and the higher the object has to be raised the more work needed to be done to raise it to that height, isn't it? Of course, work is required to move the object from the earth to the height, h only because we are moving the object against the force of gravity, g pulling the object down. Therefore, we have a direct relationship between the mass of the object, the force of gravity and the height of the object.
Gravity, g here is the gravitational field strength which measures as 9.8 N/kg most parts of the earth, also called acceleration due to gravity in which case its value can be written as 9.8m/s2. We may also rewrite the relationship as PEgrav = m. g. h where h is the height of the object above the ground such the surface of the earth is regarded as height, h = zero.
If a man decides to work against the forces of nature, he would achieve nothing. But, by taking advantage of of those forces or at least understanding them and working according to their laws, man is able to achieve great things such as flying or making electricity out of water.
Taking advantage of gravity, the potential energy of water at a height above the ground and the water cycle, we create hydroelectric energy which is the most significant source of electric power in the world which is emission-free[2]. In terms of potential, according to Figure 1.1, hydro can provide the world of up to 25% of the world energy consumption. However, it must be mentioned that even though hydropower is emission-less, the process of achieving it, namely blocking rivers to build dams could hurt aquatic and riparian habitat and displace local population communities of animals.
Electricity is generated from the kinetic energy in moving water when the water is moving with enough speed and has sufficient mass (or volume). The water would fall on a device called turbine. A turbine is like a mechanical device built with propeller-like blades which spin to generate electricity when water falls on it. Four litres per second falling from about 30 meters could generate as much as one kilowatt (that is, 1000 Watts) of electricity. But wait, we said it was the potential energy that represents energy at a height. So, how come, it is the kinetic energy of the water which is now converted to electric power?
Well, kinetic energy is the energy of an object due to its motion. According to the Law of Conservation of Energy, energy can neither be created nor destroyed, in other words, it can only be transformed from one form to another. So the potential energy of water above the dam is converted to kinetic energy when the dam is opened, and this kinetic energy is converted to electric energy by the water turbine below.
- The Physics Classroom
- UCS USA | Hydroelectric Energy
- Wikipedia | Kinetic Energy
- Wikipedia | Conservation of Energy
- Phils Chatz | Conservation of Energy
- MPOWERUK | Hydro Power
If you write STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) related posts, consider joining #steemSTEM on steemit chat or discord here. If you are from Nigeria, you may want to include the #stemng tag in your post. You can visit this blog by @stemng for more details. You can also check this blog post by @steemstem here and this guidelines here for help on how to be a member of @steemstem. Please also check this blog post from @steemstem on proper use of images devoid of copyright issues here.
Hydro electric power application is very wide and known to be the cheapest source of power although there are so many limitations attached to the Hydro power but i must say the changed or transformed potential energy of water to kinetic energy turns the turbine. Which is another very expensive equipment used in power generation. Its a very wonderful and interesting topic sir. I am glad i read it.
You're right about the limitations of hydropower, not to mention the ecological implications. I am glad you liked the post enough to comment. You're appreciated. Thanks.
Being A SteemStem Member
The boss is here again. Like I said, I do look forward to your post.
Amazing is the way you break the topic of discuss into layman language and the having representations that are easily relatable.
Hydro is definitely a great energy source to capitalize on. It's initial cost and large displacement of people and facilities makes it a hard choice to implement, especially in Nigeria.
The other time, I was at oyan river in Ogun State. The facilities are already deteriorating because it couldn't be completed due to funding and management.
Thanks for sharing this. I learnt more on the topic.
Thank you for your encouragement. You're appreciated. Of course you are right about the initial cost of implementation but with good planning, it can be done.
I agree about good planning. But isn't that still what we lack down here. The government are in a way running a bit part execution process. They would many times initiate a project and surprisingly abandon it abruptly.
As a knowledgeable person in the area of science, especially power generation, what do you think we youths could do to salvage this situation of the govt. and abandonment. Also, what means, probably mini scale facilities can we begin to try our hands on to at least help the local residents and homes?
The problem with our system is more fundamental than hydro power project. In my opinion, the first thing that needs to be done to fix our system is to restructure our government such that each state is autonomous and can determine the productivity of itself. When that happens, completing projects would be in the interest of the entity that initiates it. As for the youth contribution, we need to ensure that the right people are elected into offices.
Thank you for taking the time to reply my comment.
You're welcomed. Moreover, you are the boss here. I'm learning by engaging with you. So, it's a pleasure sir.
Well, you said it well. If each states could be autonomous, it would be easier and more projects would be accomplished.
As for youths though, don't you think we have been trying to vote right all these while? I'll say, we haven't had any rightful leader come up.
I would suggest we venture in mini projects that could serve the locals. I started a mini wind turbine design some weeks ago (I posted about it) but till now, I'm yet to get the right resources to complete it.
If we all could take a look at alternative sources, even solar in homes, we would solve domestic power needs while we wait on the government actions.
What do you think?
Sure, you're right about the power of doing rather than waiting. Of course there are some things we can do for ourselves but without social capital, we shall continue to lose our best and brightest to countries with social capital. It is not just here that it is happening. People of Venezuela are experiencing massive brain drain as their best people leave in large numbers.
I have not tried a wind turbine project and I will check yours out. I have solar powered homes and a farm so I'm pretty solid on that one. I will check out your post. Thanks a lot.
Massive brain drain it is! The best mind either find their way out of the country or get wasted.
Oh quite nice. My friend, a recent electrical/electronics engr @olajidekehinde, ventured into Solar panels setup too.
I believe if more and more youths look into alternatives, we would get better locally.
Thanks for your continued response. You're so humble and kind.
This post reminds me of a course i did some time back; power generating plant and of course, one of the very important aspects of hydro electric power is the HEAD which in simple terms is the height which in turn relates to the potential energy that the working fluid posseses at that height.
mgh=Pe where m is the mass, g is the acceleration due to gravity and h is the height.
I don't think i have gone off topic. Have i?
No, you have not gone off topic at all. PE = m. g. h. Thanks for visiting my blog.
You are welcome.
The potential itself there are several types and types, one type is the potential to think. The potential of thought itself is shared by all human beings in the world, it is made man for new things as well as ideas of new ideas and ideas. In addition there is also a physical potential that is the potential that humans have in the physical side that can usually perform effective and efficient movements. People who have physical potential will easily understand all sorts of sports and all kinds of games in sports such as football, badminton, and so forth.
While the potential energy is the energy possessed by the object because of its position on a choice. Example is a coconut that is on the tree. If given the style, the coconut fruit will fall. Coconut that fall has energi.dengan other words, the coconut can do work. If we stand under a coconut tree, our heads will hurt when the falling coconut fell, while the coconut lying on the ground can not work. Energy will potentially increase as the object reaches a larger reference point. The coconut in the lower branch is potentially lower than the coconut which is in the high branch. Coconut has the potential of energy because of the influence of earth gravitational force. Therefore, this energy is called the gravitational potential energy. So, the gravitational potential energy is the energy possessed by the object because its altitude to a terrain as a reference, try a reference point, then its potential energy will be greater.
In other words, the potential energy is the energy stored in an object because of its height. The potential energy is by the acceleration of the earth's gravity and the height of the object. The higher and larger the mass of the object, the greater its potential energy. Conversely, if the object's mass gets smaller, , then the potential energy is smaller. If the object is above the ground, then its potential energy is zero. So this potential energy is identical with the location of the height of the object. The potential energy unit is the joule.
Sorry if I'm wrong, I myself am still in the process of learning .... Thanks for sharing.
You have neatly summarised the subject and of course, you are right. The potential energy is dependent on the mass, height and gravitational field strength acting on the body.
Thank you for visiting my blog. You're amazing.
Fascinating post. Other than the effects of Hydro Power on Marine Life, another challenge of Hydroelectricity is the initial investment which is very steep just like other renewable energy sources. If a country like Nigeria has looked into Hydro Power, I believe that we would have been better regarding our generation capacity; instead, we are busy building Thermal gas Plants that I refer as 'I pass my Neighbour.' that we can't even supply enough gas to power.
Thanks
You are right. The cost implications are huge but for every great thing, great sacrifices are required. Money should not be an issue in these things because in the long run, the project will pay for itself many times over.
Thanks for coming around.
This is very much Amusing. Science is life topics
like these are what quench my thirst somewhat. Good one @churchboy
Thanks boss
really good visual
Great work,learnt about hydro power thanks to you if i may add Water is the only renewable energy source that has been utilized by man on a large scale and well as technological foundation to support its continued exploitation.
Thanks a lot
A thorough explanation of gravitational potential energy and how it can be applied to hydroelectric power. I remember studying the forms of energy during my science class. Upvoted!